I guess you can say I love a mystery, but I love a challenge even more.
I have been reading through old correspondence that I had received over the years, some dating back to 1983. There are just some clues that jump out and catch my attention. In one letter from my Aunt Helen she wrote, "James Howie was William George Howie's brother. They had another brother which went "west" as a young man and was never heard from again - it is believed he met with disaster of some kind." Doesn't that leave you intrigued? It does me. Was he traveling by train, or stage coach? Was he attacked by Indians, or did he join the gold rush? It turns out that William George Howie and James Alexander Howie were just two of seven children. There are three confirmed boys and three girls. One un-legible name. So Helen was correct. His name was John S. Howie, and I still can't find him. Without more details, I probably never will with a common name like John.
The other mystery is very new to me, "The Lost Rider Family." I was recently put in contact with my third cousin Lillian Madelyn Rider. She had sent me a family tree of the RIDERS of Fitch Bay. It begins with the progenitor of the Canadian family, Ezra Bartlett Rider. Who happens to be my 2nd Great Grand Father. He was Helen Desdemonia Rider's father. Prior to this I knew that Ezra had two wives, however I never knew that he had children by his first wife Fanny Chandler. On this tree, RIDERS of Fitch Bay, there is a box that just says 8 children moved to Illinois & Kansas in 1844. I passed over this without much thought as they would be no blood relation to me, and there were no names, until this Thanksgiving holiday when I received an email. Prior to this, I had sent out some requests to get information on locating a Masters Thesis, titled "The RIDERS of Fitch Bay." I was looking for more information on my fourth Great Grand Father Seth Bartlett Rider, as there is over a hundred year gap in the national registry. I had contacted the University for a copy of the thesis in hopes that it might have a missing link that would help me locate the parents and siblings of Seth Bartlett Rider who would be my 3rd great grand father. The University was very prompt with a response; they held two copies of the thesis, and to contact my local library for an international exchange. Which I did, but this will take sometime. They also gave me the email address of the author, so I shot and email off to Stephen Moore.
So, over Thanksgiving Stephen Moore responded to my request, and also said he had questions of the Lost Rider's who went west, did I have any information? Now again I was intrigued. Here is someone who wrote their Masters Thesis on the Riders of Fitch Bay and he was asking me for information. He stated that his source for the thesis was Lillian Rider, and they both were looking for information of eight Rider's who moved west. Being the great investigator that I am, I quickly got on it to find the lost family. I went on Ancestry.com and found that there was nothing except other genealogists also looking for clues on this family of eight children. So I posted a thread to a message board that I was also looking, and off to the library I went.
I had a copy of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register which had a story on Samuel Rider, so that was my first stop. Since I am a member of the NEHGS, I went online first with no luck. Then at the library I went to the index for the NEHGR. Found some information, but nothing new. So back to my family tree to get more clues. It is amazing that three months ago I barely knew the name of my 2nd great grandfather and today I have well over six thousand aunts, uncles, cousins and so on. I add everyone, as this has been the biggest help for me. Many times on a census form or death certificate of a cousin or brother's uncle I find the name of another family member I was looking for. Truly I am so lucky that our family immigrated from Massachusetts up the east coast and into Canada. Back in the early 1980's I hated this fact as I did not have the resources to contact Canada. Now, I am so glad because so much work has already been done, and many Churches in Quebec Canada kept wonderful records. Although the French documents are difficult to read.
So I have a story of a female farmer with three young boys, and I have a story of settlers to Stanstead Quebec. Well my local San Antonio downtown library has an extensive genealogy area, it fills the entire top floor of the library. So I started looking for one of these books written about the settlers of Stanstead, and lucky for me they had a copy. Now I understand that books are secondary sources, and not the most reliable to a true genealogist, however, this book has so much detail. The book title is: "The History of Stanstead County", by Hubbard, ISBN:1-55613-123-2. There in the pages was my great grandmother Helen D. Rider and my 2nd great grand father Ezra B. Rider. It listed both his wives and their issue (children). I entered the names and birth-dates of the eight missing children of Ezra and Fanny into my family tree on Ancestry.com. Then through U.S. Census data I was able to follow some of their movements from Illinois, to Kansas, Wisconsin and one son even moved back to Canada with his wife. Anyway my prior hunch that whatever the reason they moved, they had probably changed their name. I was so correct. These eight children changed the spelling of their last name to Ryder, stayed in the United States and moved west in 1844. Their mother Fanny Chandler died in 1843. Then in October of the same year Ezra re-married Dorothy Ann Lee, of the settler Lee's of Stanstead. They married and settled in Fitch Bay, Quebec during the time of the mass exodus from Canada.
Between 1784 and 1844, the population of Quebec increased by 400 percent. However, between 1840 and 1930, more than 900,000 French-Canadians left Canada and immigrated to the United States and Australia. Canada did not have enough inhabitable land for the rapid growth and they were moving from a rural economy to an industrial one. Manufacturing was replacing the farmer, and this is probably the reason these Riders chose not to follow their father into Canada. Going from what they knew, being a farmer, to working in a factory probably was not on their bucket list. A story for another day, but these eight farmer's probably were able to get land grants in Illinois and Kansas.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Hunt family Thanksgiving Photos
Well, Thanksgiving is over and the family photos are beginning to trickle in. Send me any family photos that you took for the holidays and I will post them.
I have here photos of the Hunt Family.
I have here photos of the Hunt Family.
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| Bradley Robert Hunt |
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| Bradley Robert Hunt |
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| Sherina, Justin & Bradley Hunt |
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| Jason, Brother of Justin, Sherina, Gregory Merrill and his family: Jennifer (Hunt), sister of Justin and there two Merrill boys with little Bradley Hunt |
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| Greg & Jennifer Merrill & Ethan & Drew |
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all, even if where you live around the globe you do not celebrate this "American Tradition."
This post has turned out much longer than I first thought, I apologize.
So, back to our journey of the Separatist cult which history prefers to call the Pilgrims. They spent twelve years in Leyden, Holland struggling to make a living as for the most part they were farmers by trade and Amsterdam and Leyden were manufacturing communities. King James I was tired of the propaganda materials that they were printing, and smuggling back to England which put bad light on the church of England and the King. With bad economy, their children becoming assimilated to a different culture, threat of being arrested and an imminent war with Spain, the group decided to go to the new world. They hired a boat called "The Speedwell" first then they had investors join them and they were also able to hire "The Mayflower" and her crew. They boarded the Speedwell in Leyden and sailed for England where the Mayflower was waiting. When they arrived, they found that their investor had like all the others betrayed them. He had sold passage to "Strangers" to the new world, and told the Pilgrims that they also had to sign a contract. This caused much delay and loss of provisions as they had no money. They set off for the new world, but with the "strangers" there was much dissension. They had to turn back twice, some say that the Speedwell was not sea worthy. Others speculate that passengers aboard the Speedwell were scuttling their own boat as they would rather be drowned at sea then be indentured servants to the investment company. It was agreed that not all would go, and they would take just the Mayflower. The groups were equally divided. However, not many of the original Scrooby congregation still survived. Seven of the original group made it on the Mayflower. The group from Leyden were 17 men, 10 women, and 14 children. The "Strangers" from England were 17 men, 9 women, 13 children and servants: 5 men, 1 woman and 6 children. Yes children! Remember the era, children were working as young as 5 years old, many were orphans. They began what would turn out to be an 8 month journey in August of 1620. They spent 18 days in South-Hampton, 10 days in Dartmouth and then 14 days in Old Plymouth. Then they spent another 66 days at sea before they set foot in the new world in December 1620 it was a horrible journey. Finally in took them another 131 days of exploring the new land before they finally agreed on a settlement. There was so much bitterness and fighting as they just sat in the bay anchored one mile off shore that it is believed that William Bradford's wife Dorothy committed suicide. She was just 23 years of age. Of course he did not write this, as suicide is a sin. He wrote that she fell over board and drowned. They had to come to an agreement, so the Mayflower Compact was drawn up and signed. Richard Warren from which our family descends signed the Compact and his signature appears twelfth. In all, 41 signed the Mayflower Compact.
They arrived in the dead of winter and explored Cape Cod for 30 days. They were sick, cold and hungry. The first shore party of 16 men took the shallop and rowed to shore. The water was shallow. In full armour and leather boots, holding sword and musket they ended up having to get out and walk the boat a long distance in the freezing cold. Miles Standish, William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins and Edward Tilly were amongst these men. They stayed for three days and two nights before returning to the ship. William Bradford writes about walking through a foot of snow and accidentally getting his foot in a deer trap, the sapling tree quickly had him face down hanging from one ankle. In this first exploration they came across an Indian village that was primarily used in the summer when fishing was good. The pilgrims stole everything including the seed corn that the Indians had left for next years planting. This was probably the first of many transgressions by the Pilgrims in this new land which lead up to King Philips War.
The first child to be born in the new world arrived to a family from Sturton-Le- Steeple, William White and his wife Susanna. He was christened Peregrine White. This was this families second son. The first was born in Leyden four years earlier. His name was Resolved. I am not of direct descent. However, Lewis Morris White (1847-1941) the father of Minnie Emma White was. She married Fredrick Hamilton Rider who was a progeny of Ezra Bartlett Rider. Lewis was of direct male descent. That family lived through the massacres of King Philips war.
I might still find a connection, however I am currently missing 100 years in the Rider line of decent. Stay tuned!
William Bradford missed his 5 year son John. Dorothy had decided not to bring him on the first voyage, and like many other families left their children back in Europe. Isaac Allerton, who Clarence Howie's wife Evelyn May Harlow has family connection, and his wife Mary Norris had just given birth to a still born son, Mary did not recover and later died herself she was 34 years old. It was a cold somber winter and over the next three days three more died of scurvy. The Pilgrims had not eaten properly in over eight months.
January came and the first mater of business was to protect themselves from the Indians which had made several attacks and had set a blaze their first common house by shooting flaming arrows into the thatch roof. They built a large stockade with enough room to build 19 individual homes and one common house. They then built the common house, and upon the roof built a fort with a cannon which them kept manned night and day. By January 11th everyone was exhausted and ill including William Bradford and Christopher Martin. The common house became a hospital and eight more quickly died of scurvy including Christopher Martin. We are connected to the Martin family through the Howie line. The remaining Martin family also fought the Indians in King Philips war. The next date in Bradford's journal was February 17. William White and Mary Allerton were dead. This continued through the winter with the Mayflower anchored off shore. More than half of all the people died including the crew on board the Mayflower. Only six remained on their feet to care for the ill. Elder Brewster who was 50 years old was one of these. He had to cut wood, tend fires, feed and clean the ill to attempt to stop the dysentery. Then by night they would have to bury the dead. They did not want the Indians to know how small their community was getting inside the stockade so they placed no grave stones on burial hill.
In the spring a Naked Massasoit Indian brave walked into the camp. Twenty-five year old Edward Winslow quickly covered him with a coat, and became the ambassador to the Indians. Later in the spring Squanto, a Paturxet Indian who was captured and made a slave returned from Europe to his home land to find the Pilgrims on it. Some historians believe this was the Pilgrims hope and their downfall. As Squanto spoke English he was able to play both sides. This created much tension as he was also helping the white man live off the land.
On April 5th, 1621 the crew of the Mayflower was well and set sail for England, leaving the Pilgrims, not one Pilgrim went back with the Mayflower.
On May 12, 1621 the first wedding took place. However, Puritans do not recognize marriage as a sacrament. So it would have been a civil ceremony. Now widower Edward Winslow and Widow Susanna (Fuller) White were joined before William Bradford as legal magistrate, six weeks after Edwards first wife died. Susanna was the sister of Samuel Fuller the only doctor, used in the loosest of terms. She was taking care of orphans Resolved and Peregrine White, as their mother and father were dead and she was their only kin.
The summer much exploring and farming was performed so they could store food for winter. In December, on the same date as the Pilgrims had first stole the food from the first Indian camp, the Chief showed up with 90 Indians and demanded a feast in reparation for the food they had stole the prior winter. So there is the story of the winter harvest, that today we are celebrating with our families and giving Thanks.
4 MARRIED WOMEN : Eleanor Billington, Mary Brewster, Elizabeth Hopkins, Susanna White Winslow.
5 ADOLESCENT GIRLS : Mary Chilton (14), Constance Hopkins (13 or 14), Priscilla Mullins (19), Elizabeth Tilley (14 or15) and Dorothy, the Carver's unnamed maidservant, perhaps 18 or 19.
9 ADOLESCENT BOYS : Francis & John Billington, John Cooke, John Crackston, Samuel Fuller (2d), Giles Hopkins, William Latham, Joseph Rogers, Henry Samson.
13 YOUNG CHILDREN : Bartholomew, Mary & Remember Allerton, Love & Wrestling Brewster, Humility Cooper, Samuel Eaton, Damaris & Oceanus Hopkins, Desire Minter, Richard More, Resolved & Peregrine White.
22 MEN : John Alden, Isaac Allerton, John Billington, William Bradford, William Brewster, Peter Brown, Francis Cooke, Edward Doty, Francis Eaton, [first name unknown] Ely, Samuel Fuller, Richard Gardiner, John Goodman, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland, Edward Lester, George Soule, Myles Standish, William Trevor, Richard Warren, Edward Winslow, Gilbert Winslow.
This post has turned out much longer than I first thought, I apologize.
So, back to our journey of the Separatist cult which history prefers to call the Pilgrims. They spent twelve years in Leyden, Holland struggling to make a living as for the most part they were farmers by trade and Amsterdam and Leyden were manufacturing communities. King James I was tired of the propaganda materials that they were printing, and smuggling back to England which put bad light on the church of England and the King. With bad economy, their children becoming assimilated to a different culture, threat of being arrested and an imminent war with Spain, the group decided to go to the new world. They hired a boat called "The Speedwell" first then they had investors join them and they were also able to hire "The Mayflower" and her crew. They boarded the Speedwell in Leyden and sailed for England where the Mayflower was waiting. When they arrived, they found that their investor had like all the others betrayed them. He had sold passage to "Strangers" to the new world, and told the Pilgrims that they also had to sign a contract. This caused much delay and loss of provisions as they had no money. They set off for the new world, but with the "strangers" there was much dissension. They had to turn back twice, some say that the Speedwell was not sea worthy. Others speculate that passengers aboard the Speedwell were scuttling their own boat as they would rather be drowned at sea then be indentured servants to the investment company. It was agreed that not all would go, and they would take just the Mayflower. The groups were equally divided. However, not many of the original Scrooby congregation still survived. Seven of the original group made it on the Mayflower. The group from Leyden were 17 men, 10 women, and 14 children. The "Strangers" from England were 17 men, 9 women, 13 children and servants: 5 men, 1 woman and 6 children. Yes children! Remember the era, children were working as young as 5 years old, many were orphans. They began what would turn out to be an 8 month journey in August of 1620. They spent 18 days in South-Hampton, 10 days in Dartmouth and then 14 days in Old Plymouth. Then they spent another 66 days at sea before they set foot in the new world in December 1620 it was a horrible journey. Finally in took them another 131 days of exploring the new land before they finally agreed on a settlement. There was so much bitterness and fighting as they just sat in the bay anchored one mile off shore that it is believed that William Bradford's wife Dorothy committed suicide. She was just 23 years of age. Of course he did not write this, as suicide is a sin. He wrote that she fell over board and drowned. They had to come to an agreement, so the Mayflower Compact was drawn up and signed. Richard Warren from which our family descends signed the Compact and his signature appears twelfth. In all, 41 signed the Mayflower Compact.
They arrived in the dead of winter and explored Cape Cod for 30 days. They were sick, cold and hungry. The first shore party of 16 men took the shallop and rowed to shore. The water was shallow. In full armour and leather boots, holding sword and musket they ended up having to get out and walk the boat a long distance in the freezing cold. Miles Standish, William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins and Edward Tilly were amongst these men. They stayed for three days and two nights before returning to the ship. William Bradford writes about walking through a foot of snow and accidentally getting his foot in a deer trap, the sapling tree quickly had him face down hanging from one ankle. In this first exploration they came across an Indian village that was primarily used in the summer when fishing was good. The pilgrims stole everything including the seed corn that the Indians had left for next years planting. This was probably the first of many transgressions by the Pilgrims in this new land which lead up to King Philips War.
The first child to be born in the new world arrived to a family from Sturton-Le- Steeple, William White and his wife Susanna. He was christened Peregrine White. This was this families second son. The first was born in Leyden four years earlier. His name was Resolved. I am not of direct descent. However, Lewis Morris White (1847-1941) the father of Minnie Emma White was. She married Fredrick Hamilton Rider who was a progeny of Ezra Bartlett Rider. Lewis was of direct male descent. That family lived through the massacres of King Philips war.
I might still find a connection, however I am currently missing 100 years in the Rider line of decent. Stay tuned!
William Bradford missed his 5 year son John. Dorothy had decided not to bring him on the first voyage, and like many other families left their children back in Europe. Isaac Allerton, who Clarence Howie's wife Evelyn May Harlow has family connection, and his wife Mary Norris had just given birth to a still born son, Mary did not recover and later died herself she was 34 years old. It was a cold somber winter and over the next three days three more died of scurvy. The Pilgrims had not eaten properly in over eight months.
January came and the first mater of business was to protect themselves from the Indians which had made several attacks and had set a blaze their first common house by shooting flaming arrows into the thatch roof. They built a large stockade with enough room to build 19 individual homes and one common house. They then built the common house, and upon the roof built a fort with a cannon which them kept manned night and day. By January 11th everyone was exhausted and ill including William Bradford and Christopher Martin. The common house became a hospital and eight more quickly died of scurvy including Christopher Martin. We are connected to the Martin family through the Howie line. The remaining Martin family also fought the Indians in King Philips war. The next date in Bradford's journal was February 17. William White and Mary Allerton were dead. This continued through the winter with the Mayflower anchored off shore. More than half of all the people died including the crew on board the Mayflower. Only six remained on their feet to care for the ill. Elder Brewster who was 50 years old was one of these. He had to cut wood, tend fires, feed and clean the ill to attempt to stop the dysentery. Then by night they would have to bury the dead. They did not want the Indians to know how small their community was getting inside the stockade so they placed no grave stones on burial hill.
In the spring a Naked Massasoit Indian brave walked into the camp. Twenty-five year old Edward Winslow quickly covered him with a coat, and became the ambassador to the Indians. Later in the spring Squanto, a Paturxet Indian who was captured and made a slave returned from Europe to his home land to find the Pilgrims on it. Some historians believe this was the Pilgrims hope and their downfall. As Squanto spoke English he was able to play both sides. This created much tension as he was also helping the white man live off the land.
On April 5th, 1621 the crew of the Mayflower was well and set sail for England, leaving the Pilgrims, not one Pilgrim went back with the Mayflower.
On May 12, 1621 the first wedding took place. However, Puritans do not recognize marriage as a sacrament. So it would have been a civil ceremony. Now widower Edward Winslow and Widow Susanna (Fuller) White were joined before William Bradford as legal magistrate, six weeks after Edwards first wife died. Susanna was the sister of Samuel Fuller the only doctor, used in the loosest of terms. She was taking care of orphans Resolved and Peregrine White, as their mother and father were dead and she was their only kin.
The summer much exploring and farming was performed so they could store food for winter. In December, on the same date as the Pilgrims had first stole the food from the first Indian camp, the Chief showed up with 90 Indians and demanded a feast in reparation for the food they had stole the prior winter. So there is the story of the winter harvest, that today we are celebrating with our families and giving Thanks.
 | THE 53 PILGRIMS AT THE FIRST THANKSGIVING : |
5 ADOLESCENT GIRLS : Mary Chilton (14), Constance Hopkins (13 or 14), Priscilla Mullins (19), Elizabeth Tilley (14 or15) and Dorothy, the Carver's unnamed maidservant, perhaps 18 or 19.
9 ADOLESCENT BOYS : Francis & John Billington, John Cooke, John Crackston, Samuel Fuller (2d), Giles Hopkins, William Latham, Joseph Rogers, Henry Samson.
13 YOUNG CHILDREN : Bartholomew, Mary & Remember Allerton, Love & Wrestling Brewster, Humility Cooper, Samuel Eaton, Damaris & Oceanus Hopkins, Desire Minter, Richard More, Resolved & Peregrine White.
22 MEN : John Alden, Isaac Allerton, John Billington, William Bradford, William Brewster, Peter Brown, Francis Cooke, Edward Doty, Francis Eaton, [first name unknown] Ely, Samuel Fuller, Richard Gardiner, John Goodman, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland, Edward Lester, George Soule, Myles Standish, William Trevor, Richard Warren, Edward Winslow, Gilbert Winslow.
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